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Loss of Jobs in America Paul Craig Roberts Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2003How Secure Is Your Job? Laura Barcella Friday, April 7, 2006American Jobs: Going, Going... Jane Birnbaum 2005Companies in India celebrate "loss of American jobs" Mike Crane December 2004Costly Trade With China Millions of U.S. jobs displaced Robert E. Scott
October 9, 2007Immigration Is Hurting The U.S. Worker Steven A. Camarota Spring 2007Outsourcing Not the Culprit in Manufacturing Job Loss Wes Iversen
December 9th, 2003
Find out why the rich pay far less taxes, how they make their money work for them instead of working for money. How they protect their assets and build additional wealth. When you discover these principles and apply them to your life, you will see your life and finances make a major turn for the better.
1. Recent Developments in Gasoline Prices The recent dramatic increase in gasoline prices has affected the entire nation. For most people, finding the required $80 to $100 to fill the tank on your automobile is a project all on its own. There are many who are charging their gasoline purchases on their credit cards because they do not have the cash to pay for the gas.
2. Tight Budgets From time to time all of us have to tighten our belts. Sometimes we know why and others often remain a mystery. For those of us in the real world, we simply get by with less.
3. Oil & Gasoline Prices 101 The price of gasoline has increased more than 150 percent in the last five years. In 2007, Americans paid on average $3 per gallon for regular unleaded. Today, many are struggling to pay the record setting $4 per gallon, which is why more people are riding buses and selling their sport utility vehicles in exchange for hybrids and fuel-efficient cars.
4. Greenspan Criticizes Housing Bailout "Stable home prices will clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world's mortgage-backed securities," he said. "We won't really know the market value of the asset side of the banking system's balance sheet - and hence banks' capital - until then," he said.
5. Banks, Politicians Meet to Decide How Best to Make Americans Pay to Bail Out Fannie and Freddie The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is the new bill passed by the Congress and signed into law that has been explained as providing government help to homeowners facing foreclosure, but which really illustrates just how closely connected Congress is with financial and business interests. The legislation is nothing more than more subsidies to the largest financial power centers, with the bills being paid through debt by the American people.
6. Foreign Nations Sovereign Wealth Funds Now Buying Foreclosed Homes The collapse of the housing market, despite impoverishing the middle class and wiping out trillions of dollars of home equity and turning suburbs into slums, will assuredly turn out to be a great profit-center for the wealthy. So many subdivided, built up resources just sitting empty throughout America while local governments are starved for property taxes present just too many deals for investors to pass up. And the vultures have begun circling.
7. Wag the Dog - How to Conceal Massive Economic Collapse The first week of August 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had just announced record losses, and so had most reporting corporations. Unemployment was mounting, the foreclosure crisis was deepening, state budgets were in shambles, and massive bailouts were everywhere. Investors had every reason to expect the dollar and the stock market to plummet, and gold and oil to shoot up.
8. Will Offshore Drilling and ANWR Solve Our Problems? There are three main heated debates involving energy right now including John McCain's Gasoline Tax Holiday, who is responsible for gasoline prices, and what effect offshore drilling and ANWR (the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve) can have on the United States. I've already covered the McCain Gasoline Tax Holiday and I plan to cover all three of these topics. All three of these topics are going to be very important when it comes to the the next presidential election and I am currently under the impression that most Americans really don't understand the issues thoroughly because of the poor job that the media does explaining all sides of these issues.
9. Service Industry Exports - It's Time For the US to Move Ahead With the economy shift the US has most of its work force employed in the service sector. This is because we are competing Globally and losing most of the time in manufacturing. There are lots of reasons we do not make nearly as much in this nation as we use too. And many reasons why there are fewer jobs in manufacturing than there were some 30-years ago. Much is due to robotics and automation, but most is due to cheaper labor elsewhere as well.
10. Prices of Homes For Sale Plummet and DIY Stores Like Home Depot, Screwfix, Home Depot & B&Q Suffer As money becomes tighter, home construction and property sales fall, it becomes increasingly harder to ensure a quick house sale. However there are several companies around who can help you if you are looking for a quick property sale, regardless whether you are facing financial difficulties and repossession, want to relocate or emigrate, have a problem with a commercial property, or have suffered a bereavement. It does not matter whether you live in a leasehold flat, a freehold house or if you are a landlord who has have a portfolio of properties.
11. Study Shows "New Direction" Could Lead to Higher Taxes The Democratic Party's "New Direction for America" could mean more economic solidity, but might also result in higher taxation, according to a recent study. According to a line-by-line analysis of the program by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, the plan includes billions of dollars of new spending. For example, the largest spending program is the...
12. Is the Recession in Our Minds? Are we all just hallucinating? Is the recession only in our minds? According to John McCain's key economic advisor, Phil Gramm (who incidentally was one of five people who co-sponsored the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which is thought to be to blame for allowing the Enron scandal to occur) , American's are "whiners". He said we're in the midst of a "mental recession" but are not currently in an actual recession.
13. Doritos Junior But hypothetically, the big companies are banking that consumers will get hungry sooner. And instead of buying two Big Macs like before, they will now opt for three. It's a win-win situation for the company.
14. Economic Analysis For the Layman Pages and pages of data will not give you any insight if you don't understand what you're reading. And by understand, you must have at least some knowledge of how popular economic indicators are measured and what they really mean. Today we're going to briefly cover a very important economic indicator, GDP.
15. The Financial Woes of the Banks Will Continue Are the financial woes of the banks over? To beat the market by investing in the stock market, you should have a good understanding of the factors that are driving the trends in the financial sector. For example, are we close to the end of the loan write-offs?
16. Lehman Brothers - The Next Bank to Fold? Since the collapse of Bear Stearns just a couple weeks ago, Lehman Brothers has been anointed as the next US Investment Bank likely to collapse. Over the past few weeks rumors have circulated alleging that Lehman was facing the same liquidity issues that forced Bear to fall to under 3 dollars a share, just a few weeks ago. This has caused Lehman's stock (LEH) to act in a similar manner, with numerous relative movements over the past few weeks of greater than 10% a day.
17. The Reason Johnny Lost His Job I've found in life that just about anything the government has a hand in, is bound to get screwed up. I've seen people freaking out that the unemployment rate has gone up to 5.7%.
18. Will the Federal Rate Cuts Mean Lower Mortgage Rates? The Federal Reserve continued their long string of lowering rates and recently lowered rates again. The question is "Will this reduction lower mortgage rates and help with the mortgage crisis?" The answer is "Not so much."
19. Bank Failure Fiasco Banks are failing at an alarming rate. 2008 has seen 8 so far.
20. Can the Federal Reserve Stop a Recession? The goal of the Fed Reserve is to control the money supply to prevent both inflation and recession. But the economy is affected by many forces, that are not affected by interest rate changes by the Fed. Many of these forces are far beyond the control of the Federal Reserve. As powerful as it is, the Federal Reserve can't do anything more than raise or lower the interest rates that it charges banks for money, and hope that this will prevent recession or inflation.
21. Corporate America - Changing Landscape One of the hardest concepts to get across to most people is that the world we live in today is not the same one that our parents or grandparents grew up in yet we are still held to the ideas and ideals from that era. Things have changed and if you want to position yourself in a situation where you are living a life that benefits you then you have to let go of those old beliefs. You need to take care of yourself first and take control of your destiny.
22. The Shortages of 2008 - Beyond Cause and Effect We have seen shortages and price hikes of all kinds in the past few months, especially in the oil and commodities markets. The causes of all this range from the sub-prime lending crisis, to the price of corn, and feed a cycle that will continue to inflate the costs of living decades into the future. Don't believe me? Read on, and I'll connect the dots for you.
23. Mortgage Rates Predictions on the Rise Homeowners in the US may not feel that mortgage interest rates are at historically low levels, because there has been a slow upward creep in interest rates over the past two years, and current mortgage interest rates are higher than they have been since early this century. However, this view is only viable for those with short memories - and the very young. Not since the 1960s has there been such a sustained period of low mortgage interest rates. Mortgage interest rates predictions are on the rise, because of a number of important economic pressures.
24. Consumers Look to Change From Uncapped Tariffs With the recent bout of energy price rises are released, people are scrambling to secure themselves on capped-price tariffs to limit the effect of the savage cost increases, according to the Fair Investment Company. The price comparison site warned that with additional price hikes predicted as the end of summer approaches, it is imperative to get on a fixed-price product as rapidly as possible. It explained that whilst such tariffs may well be becoming less competitive, it could still be worthwhile signing on to high-end rates as the large energy suppliers prime people for an ...
25. Engaging Gen Y - Rethinking the Purpose of the Economic Engine While business struggles with how to adapt to the changing values of Gen Y, this generation talks with their feet. Social enterprises are growing fast along with the call for giving back, creating change of the kind and magnitude not seen before. Or have we? Boomers who feel confused by the vision-ready Gen Y workers and entrepreneurs actually have a lot in common with a generation who sees what must happen and does it.
26. Strategizing to Live Well in a Down Economy If you are one (like myself) that is being or has been affected by the effects of the current economy, it may be time to step back and assess what can be done differently. Do you have less money coming in? Have you been layed off or downsized? Or possibly you just can't make ends meet on what you have coming in due to the increase in your outgoing costs for the basics like gas and food. Whatever your situation is, you will find there are many ways to reduce or help subsidize your overall living expenses.
27. College Bound Students Affected by Economic Downturn High school seniors are faced with the daunting challenge of selection a college. The current economic downturn is altering their college choice decisions.
28. Condemning Capitalism to More Regulation - Not the Answer Not long ago, a huge debate raged online as one group of economists defended capitalism and another trashed it in every regard. The detractors stated that; "We live in interesting times where we can live in a Capitalistic Nation, and criticize it's foundation and economic theories without being calling a Pinko Commie."
29. How Henry Ford's Invention Inadvertently Caused the Depression We are all aware of the history of Henry Ford and his invention of the production line to mass-produce Model-T's. Ford did not invent the automobile, he simply invented a method to produce cars in mass volumes and make them available for virtually anyone wishing to purchase a horse-less carriage. He also revolutionized the agriculture business with totally unforeseen consequences.
30. US Economy Hick-up Taking Down Mexico's Emerging Middle Class Most of the 35-million illegal immigrants, as well as the legally working migrant workers and many now US Citizens send money back to Mexico. At one point there was some 15 Billion Dollars a quarter going back. Each week workers would wire money back to their families.
31. Flexible Market Capitalism - What's it About? Most economists enjoy the concept of free-market capitalism and it is a wonderful dream in theory. Unfortunately, it does not exist due to many factors such as government regulation, taxation, cartels, and manipulation.
32. Imagining an Economy Aware of the Inherent Limitations Many believe that to stop all these boom to bust cycles and bubble collapses in various sectors and industries in our economy, we need those participating to be aware of the limitations of growth in their endeavors. Still, others argue that this is not the real problem because the Silicon Valley Collapse was a bubble that everyone saw and knew would eventually burst.
33. Is Our Entire Economy Insolvent and Headed For Bankruptcy? With all of the turmoil in the economy, it should be no surprise to anyone that more companies are filing for bankruptcy protection every day, as consumers change their spending habits and lenders are unable to accommodate more credit expansion. The entire American economy has been built on consumer spending for decades, with most of the production capacity shipped off to Asia. Now with a recession almost inevitable, foreclosures, personal bankruptcies, and corporate bankruptcies are on the rise, some of which are already at or near historic levels.
34. Is Free Market Capitalism a Misnomer? Some critics of Free Market Capitalism say that the word itself is an oxymoron or misnomer. Some of these detractors state that any such economic system will have limits. What limits you ask? Well, recently one of these critics stated that lack of resources, know-how, people power, or energy for starters. But, I ask you, the reader, is this indeed, a fair assessment bathed in reality?
35. Are 225,000 People a Month Really THAT Irresponsible? 225,000 people losing their homes to foreclosure every month. Countless others filing personal and business bankruptcies. While I am in total agreement with the Pop Psychology Community's slogan, "Don't Blame", we must first get the definition of "Blame" correct, then we must put the responsibility where it belongs, as opposed to where people in power would like it to be. There are two other words whose definitions seem to have been distorted somewhere along the way.
36. A Free Economy - Maybe Not! Congress is entertaining a plan to take control of one of the commodity markets. True, it's a problematic one - oil - but it is still a commodity like any other. Is this something that is going to help the people, or will it just add another layer of bureaucracy and regulation and bring us a step closer to socialism? You decide.
37. Economic Recession When do we know we are in an economic recession? The indicators are based on a country's gross domestic product (GDP) falling over a six month period, or two successive GDP quarters. A recession can lead to an economic Depression, as was the case in the 1929 and 1930, but in recent history economic recessions have lasted just a short period of time (less than two years).
38. Nobody Caused the Financial Crisis, Really How did the financial crisis happen? Weren't there warning signs that said we had big problems? Maybe simple cause and effect thinking would help us find the culprits in this mammoth money grab.
39. You Are Being Ripped-off! The 2008 Mortgage Scandal A new Government report has predicted that the current tightening of the mortgage market will last until 2010. Predictably, the brains behind the report have stated that the current situation has led to the drop in house prices, and will inevitably lead to more repossessions - thanks for stating the obvious! Worryingly though, the report cautioned there was no quick fix to ease the log-jam in mortgage funding and stopped short of providing any firm solutions to the lending troubles.
40. Do Foreigners Care For the US Economy? It has become a nationwide trend for foreign companies to come in and buy out American companies. But, do these foreigners really care for the U.S. economy?
41. Who is to Blame For Higher Prices at the Pumps? Tired of getting hammered tank with gas thanks to crazy high gas prices? Me too! The price of oil is on every newscast with headlines shouting about the latest record in oil prices. And most worrisome of all, according to the headlines, this is just the beginning. How much will it cost then?
42. What Can We Do About Gas Prices? - The Answer Will Surprise You Get the answer to the most popular question today, "What can we do about gas prices?" The answer will surprise you and the solution will amaze you. I will give you a hint: It has nothing to do with converting your car to run on water.
43. Gas - It's Everywhere In the 1970's we experienced the gas crisis created by the "Arab Embargo", today's increasing price has a much different cause and consumer response. The gas companies are beginning to address our reaction to the high gas prices. Gas companies want you to buy their brand not just any brand to save pennies. Increased advertising and reward certificate programs are designed to recreate brand loyalty. Buy the same brand of gas, mail in receipts as directed, and you can get pre-paid gas cards in the mail, as a reward for your loyalty.
44. Razor Blade Economics - Refill Your Toner Cartridges An introduction to the world of razor blade economics - an marketing technique that is at great odds with the environment and our desperate need to reduce our carbon footprint. Specifically the huge waste promoted by the printer manufacturers.
45. Inflation - The New Age Danger? In recent times, the most commonly discussed topic on the global front is the effect of inflation on the people and how it largely affects their everyday lives. So what does this inflation mean in the first place? Inflation is a term which denotes the rise in the cost of consumer goods and services. Since an increase in the cost of goods eventually affects the prices of other goods and services as well, there is an overall increase in the cost of living of the people. Inflation can rather be termed as a decrease in the value of a currency.
46. Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 Amidst WTO & GATS, Special Economic Zones have attained a centre stage. The Central Government has enacted the SEZ Act with the major objective of generation of additional economic activity, promotion of export of goods and services, investment from domestic and foreign sources and creation of employment opportunities. This Act is unique as it helps in backward and forward integration of the economy.
47. US Economy is Barely Treading Water But There May Be Positive Effects! The US economy has been treading water for the past couple of years with conditions continuing to decline. Fuel costs and the foreclosure rate are acting as undercurrents. These times may bring a sense of insecurity, however, they may also bring us as Americans back to a more conservative way of thinking.
48. Japanese Candlesticks Say Crude Oil Prices May Be Headed For $80 The common wisdom is that Crude Oil prices must rise higher, because the fundamentals demand it. Not so fast, please. The supply and demand equation is corrupted because of fuel subsidies in many countries. When the subsidies become unsustainable, demand will fall locally and will affect prices worldwide.
49. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's Current Financial Crisis Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are presently undergoing a tough time. With confidence level and shares going down significantly for the past week, some people think that a government bailout is about to happen. Fannie had a 28 percent drop in shares, while Freddie slid 26 percent.
50. "Why Should the Gas Prices Be Lower?" - A Few Good Reasons Gas prices lately have been escalating. They are higher than ever and there seems to be no relief in the near future. Why should the gas prices be lower? Well, I can think of several reasons.
53. Five Good Reasons to Love a Recession, Home Depot Coupons Not Withstanding What do you think of when you hear the word recession? Ruin? Breadlines? Layoffs? Used cars? Repossessed homes? A mountain of Home Depot coupons? Everyone fears a recession, but believe it or not, a recession does not mean the end of the world as you know it.
54. How to Survive in Hard Times Times are hard now. You are on the verge of calling it quits. There is no hope left. But are you sure? Check out how to survive in hard times, especially now!
55. Palm Springs Once Famous Downtown Looks Like a Ghost Town in Economic Decay The famous Palm Springs Tourist Destination has seen better days, now the downtown area is experiencing problems due to high fuel costs and fewer travelers. Many of the businesses that once flourished have gone out of business and much of the area downtown has for lease signs, where local companies use to be.
56. Time to Seriously Think About a Metro System in Guatemala Have we ever though of Guatemala as a city with a Metro? Usually, no. Recent tendencies have pointed out that feasibility and necessity are making this change, and people are starting to talk about Guatemala's odds.
57. Volatile Global Exchange Rate Affects UK Citizens Living Abroad Many UK citizens move to warmer climes in their retirement. This is to take advantage of the sunshine, as well as the favourable rates of exchange. But as the Euro grows stronger and the cost of living rises, these retirees are finding that their Pounds don't go as far as they used to.
58. The Debt Society - Supermarkets to Bin BOGOFs Supermarkets have been put under pressure to stop their BOGOF offers after claims that it encourages customers to waste food. The Buy one Get One Free offers are increasingly used by stores that claim they are trying to help those on a budget. This has been tackled by consumer groups and MPs that said that they are simply encouraging shoppers to buy more food that they won't be able to consume before it spoils.
59. Lessons From Ireland on Economic Growth For most of the past 300 years or so Ireland has had the dubious distinction of being a country more known for the hardships suffered by its inhabitants than for its beautiful countryside. While people in other parts of the United Kingdom and in Europe enjoyed a relatively high standard of living Ireland lagged far behind. Up until the early 1970's the average income in Ireland was approximately one half of that of the rest of the UK. Over the next 35 years that status would change dramatically. How did Ireland accomplish such a dramatic turnaround?
60. Secrets of the Not So Rich If you represent the majority of the American public, chasing the American dream has become a nightmare. If history repeats itself, this economic downturn will eventually come to an end. It looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better, but, the good times may be found in these bad times if you pay attention to...
61. Personal Salvation During the Coming Economic Chaos - Part 2 During difficult times it is easy for individuals to attempt to drown their sorrows in irrationally selfish behavior. Instead of taking decisive actions to improve their situation they indulge in self-destructive actions. During the coming economic chaos this could be deadly to their well-being.
62. Living Within Your Means Or Even Better, Below Your Means! Why are we in a recession, economic downtrend, or term of your choosing? Well, many reasons, but most of it has to do with debt in some form or another. And, the #1 cause behind it whether it be individuals or even our government, is that most of us simply lived bigger than we could afford to & have done so for a very long time!
63. Industries Dying in the United States It is virtually in the news everywhere you look on television, in the newspapers, even on the radio. Some United States industries are becoming extinct. Companies that are in the industry business are seeing the affects of the economy. This is evident when viewing the gross domestic product. The labor force is shrinking. Economics, being the study of goods and services: the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services has become a dreary outcome for those companies not being able to survive the economic downturn. The foreign competition industries are far from becoming extinct. The labor force is growing overseas. Why is this? Foreign competitions dollar value is becoming stronger. The foreign industries are not having to deal with technology and rising costs that American industries are enduring. The economically challenged United States industries include various companies. Some of the United States industries that are becoming extinct and economically challenged include the various manufacturing industries. Included in the dying industries are the textile production companies.
64. 5 Areas People Attempt to Save Money Due to the Low Economy Due to the change in economy, many people are trying to save money as best as they can. Saving money seems to be the new trend lately. The more you save; the better off you will be through this economic crisis!
65. Oil Subsidy Or No Subsidy? - Malaysia There are many sweeteners that can be offered to a mass population especially when the economy and people are in dire straits. Careful investigation and analysis is vital before adopting the proposals and promises are required.
66. The Truth About the Falling Dollar - How You Can Still Make Money Short article of the weak dollar and the world economy. The weak dollar actually helps out our multinational corporations sell more products and should have a benefit back to our economy by job growth in the long run. However, there are companies that are poised already to make a killing due to the falling dollar.
67. Let the Lawsuits Begin - Banks Brace For a Storm of Litigation Lawsuits threaten the banks from all sides - from state attorneys general, consumer class actions, and investor backlash. Shifting liability for the subprime debacle back to the banks could bankrupt even the biggest banks. But that might not be the end of the world . . .
68. Inflation - A Sign of Weakness? I'm buying cafe and newspapers regularly so I know what they are priced at. I also know that many companies are against the dogmatic price rising at the first of January. Price changes are often announced during the first half of the year. The first of July is also a good moment to raise prices.
69. Fuel Prices and Credit Crisis The credit crisis has been going on for some time now. To put the crisis simply, banks encouraged potential homeowners to purchase above their heads, and now the owners are falling desperately behind on their mortgage payments.
72. The Great Driving Dilemma What is the hybrid engine about? This is like a submarine engine. Where there are nuclear-electric and some are diesel-electric. Any vehicle that combines two or more sources of power that can directly or indirectly provide propulsion power is a hybrid, some freedom of use is there.
73. Times They Are a Changing Questioning your future, now, medium, long term. Are you debating your future, where do you go from here and what changes can you make.
74. Third World Countries Should Spend Much on Development and Less on Salary It beats logic that salaries for senior civil servants in some of the third world countries are at bar or above those of the same job groups in the developed world. Many economists concur that for third world countries to join the league of developed nations, it has to spend less on salaries and spend more on investment and development. Through salary increment can be used to help the low income earners in society during inflation and economic recession, it will always serve as a short term measure.
75. Why Most Development in the Third World is Not Priority Driven The factors that have contributed to poor priorities are varied. There is the elite attitude and systems inherited from colonial period, a multiple of self-interest groups and an economic system that is still largely centralized, a population that is not aware of its rights, people who are not aware of a possibility of a better life, presence of a relatively large semi-alliterate population, and a population that is politically apathetic.
76. Africa Should Now Turn to Technology For Its Survival and Economic Development African countries have also for along time relied on export of raw materials. The revenue they earned from the raw materials has not helped much and they are dwindling. Africa has been a source for diamonds, gold, copper, oil and other minerals for the developed world. Africa's answer for its development aspirations lies in technology. The fact that Africa population is increasing while land is not mean that other people would have to work elsewhere to earn a livelihood. And the educated youth's hope is in technology.
77. Maintenance is a Missing Ingredient in Africa's Development Infrastructure offers a stage for development, good economic policies and good governance provide the script for development, and implementation supported by the citizens, the political class, and the executive will assure its success. The little success made in infrastructural development in the third world is often offset by lack of maintenance.
78. The Real Issue No One Talks About The cable business networks are all a flurry with discussions about rising prices, bank failures, and our failing economy. But I have noticed something critical missing in these discussions. Seldom is anything mentioned about the underlying cause of our troubles. The worthless piece of paper we call the dollar!
79. The Gas Prices Are the Least of Our Worries Recession? What recession? Thanks to a society being led by convenience, things are going swimmingly in the Fast Food Industry. How can we complain about increased gas prices when we spend so frivolously on food?
80. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - $6 Trillion With Major Banks Foreclosure Mess and Citigroup Post $2.5B Have you ever wondered how to find quick big cash if you are facing Foreclosure due mainly to stupid bank loan practices? Then let me give you a hint. Cash Gifting is real and it works. Find the right gift giver and you can turn your bad situation into a good one quickly. I'm talking easy cash that you never have to pay back that you can use to catch up on maybe your house payments to save yourself. Inside this article I will explain to you how it is done.
81. After the Foreclosure Crisis, The Corporations Will Take Over Now that the foreclosure crisis has taken the economic lives of hundreds of mortgage lenders, a handful of banks, and untold numbers of families, it makes sense to evaluate what has happened to engineer the events now taking place. With a central bank controlling the money supply and the nation enjoying issuing the reserve currency of the world, it is not difficult to analyze how the country has been set up to be sold off to the highest secret foreign corporate bidders.
82. Andrew Carniege and Current Day Affairs One of the greatest philanthropist America has know, legacy flourishes and examples exudes duplication. This paper reviews how the black church has been targeted by the senate as to whether they are handling their finances in accordance with laws and guidelines.
84. Rising Oil Prices - What Do They Keep Rising? Rising oil prices are impossible to ignore, as is their impact on our economy. But what is it that effects their price? This article explains what causes oil prices to keep rising.
86. The Future? Wheat Shortages Foreshadow While a major story, many Americans have not heard about the soaring cost of wheat and other commodities. It's only in the check out line do they realize the hit on their budgets. Is a recession "coming"?
87. The Dollar and the Gas Prices One often wonders how today's economy affects the all might dollar. The truth is that most people have a hard decision to make about where to spend the dollar. The gas prices have risen above $4 a gallon leaving many people without other things they need to live.
88. US Banks Are in Trouble In recent times, the status of our economy has really been questioned. From the weakening of the American dollar to an increasing amount of debt, the countries current financial crisis has continued to dwell and even breed. Now, in recent weeks, concerns are being rose up about the status of our banks.
89. Kondratieff Waves - Do They Exist? When looking at Google-trends there is some search volume on the term "Kondratieff," but all entries have a European origin. I have checked EzineArticles.com too and the search for "Kondratieff" delivers no results. If the Kondratieff wave exists ...
93. The City of Indio California Overdue For Re-Branding Often cities stagnate after big growth periods, unable to attract new investment into the area. There are many issues that cause this. Sometimes the city is not considered to be of high-status and thus, some retailers and businesses will not move in and high-end developers are afraid to invest, worried that they may not be able to sell the homes and units they build.
94. The Fate of the US Dollar Ever since the dawn of our modern economy there has been much talk about our dollar, the American dollar. Debate after debate shows the contempt many economists and business law grads have for our suspicious economy. One must ask when listening to the news and visiting various media sites: Is the American dollar doomed?
95. Negative Economic News Over the Top If you have been watching the news and reading the newspapers obviously you have seen the heavy handed negative press when it comes to the economy. Generally in an election year we have a good economy. So why are we getting such bad reports? Well much of it is a created reality, perhaps to assist a certain candidate and political agenda. But why would anyone drag down the entire economy just to impose a change of power?
96. Sustainable Economy For USA Sustainable economies are town based economies; they do not originate from Manhattan or Boston they are developed in back yards in suburbs. Sustainable economies are not dependent on huge financial centers they need home base local industry and consumer from the neighboring towns to thrive. Central grid stations, fossil fuel costs and energy crises don't hinder there growth as sustainable economies use simple renewable energy resources to satisfy there energy needs, groceries are picked from local farm markets instead of super market shelves.
97. Are We Revisiting the 1970's An article that compares the economic downturn in the 1970's to today. Where are we going? Who knows but it is going to be a bumpy ride.
98. The Real Cost of Living - And Why the Inflation Rate Tells a Different Story To those of us keeping a close eye on our finances, the official 3% inflation rate might seem a little short of the mark. It may well be above the Government's target of 2%, but to most UK households, a 3% rise in average costs would be affordable, if a little inconvenient. In reality, the UK has recently experienced some much sharper rises in costs of living that are putting many people under serious financial strain.
99. Could the Baby Boom Crisis Affect Your ROIs? It's predicted that 78 million baby boomers will retire over the next 2 years. Many companies will be affected by the huge loss of talent, and the struggle to replace them. But have companies considered how this could affect ROIs?
100. Who Creates Your Economy? Do consumers create the economy, or does the news create the economy we experience? Why is it that when the economy is sizzling we feel positive and go out and buy what we need even if nothing has changed for us, and when the economy slows we step back and allow fear to grip us? A few years ago when the housing market was roaring and seemingly unstoppable there were some lone voices touting that it was only a matter of time before the "housing bubble" would burst.
If you have been blogging for any length of time you will come to find it to be a lousy money making proposition. I continue to blog essentially for three or four reasons now. Ultimately you need several blogs to use for building links. You also need niche specific blogs to promote your niche websites.
Other things that keep me blogging are the social aspects, the fact I can use blogs to voice my opinions unedited by others, and blogging allows me to practice my writing skills. Heck, I might even pass on some of the valuable lessons I have learned, and save some people on their learning curve time.
This post started out as an update on my Affiliate Mashup Sites as part of a beta program being developed by Mark Wielgus at 45n5.com, so here goes. I now have 11 "mashupmony" websites in the hopper.
The two newest being HDTV411.info and MiniPConline.info. Since we all have a fat chance of making any money blogging, you might as well avoid all of the Internet tripe, and learn how to market online. These beta sites are not too pretty, but I did build ten in less than a week.
2. Mashups for Money - Marketing on The Internets with The Google I have learned that blogging is critical to marketing online, but not a means to an end. Learning the ropes of Internet marketing is far more important. There are only a few ways to make money in the off line world, and so it is the same in the online world, according to the prophecy.
It's always going to be trading time for money (labor), buy something that appreciates and then sell it for a gain (investments), or sell something (products and services). Most people can't get their heads wrapped around these simple concepts. BTW, the virtual world offers all three of the same opportunities.
The other part of the equation is learning how to automate each step of the process. This is where the Internet gurus get you, and most of them are not even making money in a traditional monetizing scheme. They are just selling you a load of crap about how to write blogs, get traffic, and sell ads, paid posting, or sell stupid Get Rich Quick schemes, software, CDs, ebooks, and other materials.
Well, what are you going to do with that traffic? Sell your readers and visitors another load of the same money making BS with rehashed information and How-to-Guides? Those that can "do", and those that can't "teach". This is why there are no big secrets. You have to learn how to "market something" online. It's going to be your time for cash, a gain on an investment, or selling a product or service, period.
This is where mashup websites come into play. Fully automated...find a niche...load up some keywords...and presto you have a viable selling site using the power of the Internets, The Google, and tried and true affiliate marketing.
Here are a few of my first mashup sites. Some of these may not yet be indexed, as I have just built these sites in the last two days.
Stay in touch, come back to this blog and leave comments, and let me know if you want to learn how to do this. My SOHO blogging has been way light...but then there is a reason.
3. SpiderWeb Will Rock the Web Whoa Baby! This blog is getting whiskers. Anyone that has followed my path will know that I now have been heavy into educating myself about Internet marketing. Thus, the reason for no posts.
But I have been busy and on assignment. One of the keepers is a beta program known as The SpideWeb Marketing System. If you have seen it in passing, but did not consider it...time to time warp for a reconsider. I think this is going to be the next big monetizing scheme for the web.
Many have tried to create a self-sustained or auto-pilot system. This puppy started out with 12 streams of income, but now has 22. I have a gut feeling it's going to be a winner.
It still is in beta, so do get in now to position yourself. Leave a comment if you want to join my team. It's no cost, but I also don't need any slackers. Yes, I will drag you along, but you have to do exactly as I say and follow a plan of action.
4. EZ-20-NOW Reviews and Review Blogs Time to crank up the older blogs for some testing of marketing ideas and some Google juice. I have spent the first part of 2008 reviewing online marketing ideas. I continue to weed out the chaff and look for simple ideas. Solid and quick programs that can be developed and promoted with SSM and SMO.
The vision is still to be a sovereign road warrior with a rugged laptop and a cell phone. The first program I am testing is Easy-20-Now, or EZ20NOW. I have actually started a review blog. Drop by at EZ20NOW Reviews and leave a comment and extend a linking hand. This program is cheap, simple, and does not have a scam feel with all the hype. I am doing my homework before I get too deep.
You may want to watch all my blogs as I pull it all together. I spent the better part of 2007 just reading, researching, and learning how to market online. Yes Virginia, social media marketing does work, but it takes a long time, and the learning curve is steep.
This is a heads up on Mark Wielgus at 45n5.com. Mark is on top of online trends, and I am here to tell you that he researches, tests, and reports on things you will come to appreciate on a daily basis. All the information in this post was gleaned from 45n5. My belief is that Mark combines some marketing savvy with geekdom knowhow. He even writes simple, but useful utility programs and then gives them away for free on the blog. Here is a recent link to one he dubs "Keyword Scrubber".
45n5.com has turned into one of the few blogs I simply must check out on a daily basis. Now Mark is committed to deciphering Affiliate Marketing as a top priority. Another project he is combining with this effort is his personal mission to produce and post a video every day in 2008.
I think with 365 videos in the planning, his little experiment is one to watch for trends, plus the techniques, tips and tricks he is bound to uncover along the way. So, if you want to make 365 videos in one year, watch this guy in 2008 and I think you will learn something.
This is not for a lack or loss of interest, but merely a necessity of time management. Regardless, my blog niche revolves around the central theme of mobility and using technology to be independent. So, you can always check back here and/or catch my more frequent updates at the Rugged Notebooks or Digital Nomads sites. My plan this year is to move to private domains.
One thing I have been doing is writing more focused posts...themed, if you will, or a series of posts on a subject of interest. Recently, this has had a major slant towards telecom, and in particular new gadgets like MagicJack and VoIP telephoney solutions like Google GrandCentral.
I am finding that being more focused on a particular subject area makes it easier and more interesting to research, test, review, and write. I think my readers appreciate it a well and it is helping in the SERPS.
If you are still blogging, drop me a line and let me know how you are getting on. There seems to have been a drop in the number of friends I met online in 2007 that have continued to blog, or scaled back like I have. -Digital Nomad
I saw this over at the BigString 2.0 website and thought it was good advice. BigString is an interesting concept in itself, which I will let you discover for yourself. These 12 items have been edited somewhat, so not to get dinged for duplicate content. There were some typos in the original text anyway. Enjoy.
1. Do not send email when you are angry. Wait until you calm down before you send that email. Feelings and thoughts can be difficult to interpret and easily misconstrued.
2. Never send a sarcastic email that could be taken out of context. Sarcasm and email do not mix. You can easily offend someone in an email without intent to do so.
3. Do not send email gossip. You never know where the email will end up. Just make a commitment to yourself not to participate in any gossip.
4. Never end significant relationships via email. Email is the equivalent of an electronic paper trail. Not good for any sour ending, whether business or personal.
5. If you don't want your boss or coworkers to see it, better not send that email from work.
6. Never put anything in writing that may come back to haunt you. A good overall policy. Not just for email.
7. Never, ever, hit ‘Reply to All’ when you just want to send an email to one individual.
8. Don’t email pictures of yourself to others. Especially, online acquaintances and complete strangers.
9. Don’t make promises or commitments via email that you cannot or will not keep.
10. When you send attachments, be sure that you have selected the correct files and documents.
11. Good advice from New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, “Never write when you can talk. Never talk when you can nod. And never put anything in an email.”
12. Try BigString recallable email. If you do happen to make errors...the recallable, erasable, and non-forwardable features will help to correct such mistakes.
I have had a few email exchanges with Mark, and these are a few of his cautionary thoughts by way of how he has explained the ideas behind how it should work. Most people will not succeed with this mashup concept, or any other website scripting without the underlying concept and knowledge (or experience from learning) of how to build such a niche site.
Cranking out "out of the box" and rubber stamp solutions is what everybody else is doing. Doing the same thing that everyone else is doing online will bring the same results...which happens to be not making any money online. This also happens to mirror Einstein's theory of insanity, and he was no dummy. It's also making many people wealthy for some pretty worthless online information products.
So, if you use the script out of the box, most of your money will be made from luck or successful keyword research (aka) what words and topics you use to build these niche minisites in mass production.
Now is the time to learn. Take the time to consider doing it right. - Digital Nomad
A 25 Year Old Entrepreneur Making a Living Online from Home
You probably have read about or heard of The Rich Jerk and Chis X of Day Job Killer. If not you better stop and do a Google search right now. About 2 years ago, Holly Mann, a young mother started to successfully market directly against high profile Internet marketing gurus like these guys.
Living in a foreign country with no job and few resources, Holly decided she could research, design, and deliver a kinder and gentler approach to online marketing. Evidently she found her niche selling "How-To" information, because she has become successful in a short period of time (well, a couple of years).
"Honest Riches 2" is a 95 page proven guide. Holly shows all the techniques she has used to make money online through affiliate programs starting with no website and no start-up money, then on to free websites that can easily be setup with little or no experience, including free advertising that most people don't know or think about.
Yes, it seems possible to make money online and work from home just about anywhere (Holly lives in Thailand), but don't quit your day job just yet. You need a system and you need the right tools and knowledge to be successful. Changing your career is a life altering decision.
Before taking the leap, do plenty of due diligence and adequate research for information and resources about starting an online business and becoming an online entrepreneur. This e-book is geared for beginners, but is a valuable resource for all online marketers. No "get-rich-quick" schemes here....like any real business endeavor, it involves some effort and some work. But you will learn strategies and techniques to start making money right away.
To read more about Holly Mann techniques and other online marketers, visit Thank You Holly Mann.
After many attempts at beating a dead horse, everyone involved in the Agloco fiasco can now uncross their fingers. It ain't gonna happen. Even John Chow has finally admitted defeat along with almost 30,000 signed up in his Agloco network.
Here is a partial screenshot of his last post on the subject, and here is a link to the post about the Agloco demise at TechCruch. Like John says...it shows that all those MBAs don't always muster up success, even the second time around. For posterity, watch the video on the Agloco viewbar attributes, and think about all the gurus that were on board for this.
It may sound implausible, but it is not impossible. Follow this Digital Nomad and you know that just feeding the blogs is not going to cut it anymore. Blogging should be part of your online marketing network, but not a diversion.
I have been searching heavy for the folks that are making it online and not the wannabes. One such source is 45n5.com authored by Mark Wielgus. This guy tells it straight. You have to hunt an peck to find the good stuff, and you will have to piece it together, but I think a good start is on this website.
Mark will show you how to find a niche, create a website in 10 minutes, and then shove it in the pipeline with some SEO tricks. Theoretically, there is no reason why you could not do this everyday for a month and then have 30 minisites up and running for affiliate programs in thirty days. That's if you want to have a website between you and the merchant.
I am finding that you maybe don't even need a website to market affiliate programs, but you do have to commit to spending some money for Google Adword campaigns. Better have a pad and pen ready.
There is always something to learn. Take the time to learn something new each day. - Digital Nomad
Anything that goes viral online can be fun to watch, but sometimes it's even more exciting if you are part of the effort with some skin in the game. The Thinking Blog will make you think about many different things, and it will also make you think about viral marketing with the chance to start the new year right with a new laptop computer as part of an online promotion.
You should know Ilker Yoldas as a website developer and graphic designer. Ilker is also a professional blogger. A great combination for promoting ideas and new products online.
The Thinking Blog celebrates its first anniversary with an online giveaway to help get a new product line of rugged computers noticed online and hopefully taking it viral. Few things work as good as "FREE", except maybe these two words combined: "FREE COMPUTER".
The giveaway rules from Ilker state, "To enter our giveaway, all you have to do is write about it in your blog. Ensure you have two links on your blog post, one link with rugged related keywords to RuffPC.com (e.g. "rugged computer", "water resistant laptop", "spill proof notebook", and the likes) and another link to this giveaway post."
With a worldwide entourage of blog buddies and faithful readers, some bloggers become the experts of online marketing by disclosing this online information by showing you what to do. "TTB" is in this category with over 1600 subscribed RSS readers and several thousand new and returning visitors to the blog each day.
To win the free laptop giveaway at The Thinking Blog you have to participate by writing a review in your own blog post. This promotion is being sponsored by Ruff PC, and the computer giveaway is worthy of your participation.
The computer is a brand new, rugged, water resistant laptop called the RuffBook Tech. This road-worthy laptop has a magnesium alloy case, and is built to survive the harshest conditions.
Stop reading about it in this post, and go read the complete entry rules at The Thinking Blog. Now go get your chance at owning a new rugged laptop before the end of 2007. Also, congratulate llker by leaving a comment or two on the blog.
Happy Anniversary! -Digital Nomad
Related Links:
www.thethinkingblog.com or email: ilker@thethinkingblog.com Contact: Alan Shad, President: www.ruffpc.com Telephone or email: sales@ruffpc.com
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
I wanted to make a quick update in reference to writing and submitting Pillar Articles to article directories vs. the chore of "Feeding Blogs" with endless content. This test is progressing nicely. I have submitted 5 pillar articles since about the middle of last month.
I know this is working, as I have been posting less to all the blogs I author in varying degrees as a test. This has not affected the blog traffic much at all. Traffic is actually improving, according to StatCounter and Alexa for two of the blogs that I author. One averaging over 10 page views per visitor at the time of this writing.
It may also be that I am now writing better, more focused content, since I do not feel pressured to try and post something every day for the sake of trying to post so frequently.
The five recent pillar articles have been downloaded for publication over 100 times in less than 30 days, and this is just for GoArticles. I periodically will submit similar articles to several of the more popular article directories.
OK. You can "stop feeding your blogs" now, and you also can stop making endless comments on popular blogs, trying to get made a "Fav" on Technorati, and otherwise making the meter go up on metrics that have much ado about nothing when it comes to quality traffic.
I think submitting to article directories will also create better traffic with better long-term and permanent links.
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
Here is possibly a way to secure a domain name when you are in a hurry, and at the worst an extra free email account. You can use your own domain to create a personalized email address for you, a business, or anything else through an AOL service called My eAddress. You have up to 100 invites for others to get their own email address on your domain. The free service is called AOL My eAddress.
Just a few comments and cautions from the TOS. You have to give out quite a bit of personal information, like a valid cell phone number in the US or Canada. Additionally, if you use the "Bring your Own Domain" option, you can use any hosting company you like while using free email service from AOL. However, if you choose the "Popular Custom Domain" option, you will be stuck with AOL as the administrator for the domain, so you will not be able to host a website at that domain.
This could be a catch 22 for your future plans, so please read the "Terms of Service" carefully at AOL My eAddress.
Bouncing around the blogosphere, you may find that many of the well known bloggers are coming to the same conclusions that I already have. Get back to basics, don't worry about PR, Technorati, or Alexa ranking...and concentrate on traffic.
For some people this still means spending horrific amounts of time networking and hitting the social network scene. I am more convinced that writing pillar articles for submission to article directories is a much better approach.
This involves spending more time on research and organizing your thoughts far enough into the future to determine how you can approach a particular subject. You need to write for yourself, but you also need to write about things other people will have an interest in reading.
In many ways this is much better than the prospect of having to write posts just for the sake of writing a post. I know at many times people get a writing block, or just get bored, or even fed up with the notion that they have to "feed the blog" (I think I just coined a useful phrase).
Some of the additional rewards of pillar articles, is that your writing will be more involved and engaging, you will be building authority in one or more areas of personal interest or a niche, and you will be expanding your own knowledge base as you research and process information.
Additionally, you will have a greater chance of having your articles republished elsewhere on blogs and mentioned in references in such a manner that they are permanently linked back to your blogs and websites. Go plant some seeds for future traffic building, and resist the urge to "Feed the Blog".
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
The Death of Page Rank! Everyone is complaining about their PR, or Google Page Rank dropping. I say, "Get over it and move on". As I wrote in a recent post about traffic strategy, it is becoming more obvious all the time that all these ranking metrics really prove is nothing...unless you want to post and brag about how you make the meters move.
Just like Technorati, or Alexa ranking, PR has little or nothing to do with traffic and successful marketing. Anything ill-gotten is just that, "ill-gotten". So, if you have spent months or years gaming the system, don't be surprised to see what your true worth might be in the Blogosphere and the Arpanet.
Take a deep breath, get back to work...and try to learn how to add value to your online projects and for your readers and visitors. Like the book says "Do What You Love, and The Money Will Follow."
I think that all this nonsense is amazing to the true online marketers that know how to push the buttons to make things really work. It once again boils down to Niche, Traffic, Monetization, with the actual "Product" bringing up the rear.
Maybe backwards of how the analog world works, but after all it is a "Market of One" when it come to the Internet and online marketing. Build a better mouse trap and you will be found.
Besides, you really can't toss rocks at Google for trying to plug holes in the dam by making the PR rank more honest. More fun for gamers, too, who just have a burning desire for shortcuts and beating the system.
Now we can all look forward to posts on new theories, new techniques, new ebooks, new widgets, new podcasts, new videos, new ezines, new seminars, new gurus, and new yearly conventions. Page Rank is alive and well, it just no longer is what it had become.
Apologies in advance for all the cliches. - Digital Nomad
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
It's the middle of the weekend, so no heavy thought riddled posts today. Just some fun and games to let your mind roam a little. Maybe this should become a habitual weekend exercise to post about. Find something that is lighthearted, but still interesting and write a quick post about it.
I have had this bookmarked for some time, and today finally tried out PhoneSpell.org. Oddly enough, my telephone number does not spell anything. What are the chances of that. I tried both 7-Digit and 10-Digit combinations. This is no joke. Mouseover and click to see larger in a new window.
Oh well, give PhoneSpell a link up and see what you come up with for your numbers. It may give you an idea for a new blog or domain name, jog your memory for a new marketing approach, or just make you laugh. Maybe we can resurrect the notion of the "enum" network.
Sometimes we just need some levity. While you are there, check out the Voice Nation link at the bottom, and help PhoneSpell pay some bills.
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
Are you lost in the blogosphere? Tired of posting and timestamps? I have been doing some experimenting with the different blogs that I write, including analysis and research about blogs versus websites. This has involved researching the current methods to create traffic, which everyone and their brother has rehashed in posts and how-to SEO ebooks and seminars.
You know, like leaving comments on blogs, posting frequently, writing interesting posts, viral contests, linkbating, joining social networks, etc. These all do work. The caveat is that if you are using some of the monetization schemes that everyone writes about, you first have to have a presence with regard to a Techorati rank, and Alexa rank, or both to get in the game.
The long and the short is that both of these ranking systems have little to do with making money in my mind. I personally have no interest in PPP, PPC, PPA, or any of the advertising schemes that require tons of time and effort. It is a double edge razor blade in my opinion, because you have to spend an unbelievable amount of time socializing and creating backlinks. It also is why bloggers burn out fast.
Technorati is notoriously bad for not sending traffic. And get this...everyone that measures traffic knows that bloggers don't click on ads or text links. So what is the point of pandering to other bloggers in the blogosphere to get their traffic. Even Darren Rowse has recently admitted that Adsense income was no longer worth cluttering his Problogger blog up with ads.
I can almost guarantee that if you spend much of your time in forums and social networks to gain popularity, you will have little to show for it except some nice ranks and bragging rights. All this indicates that it's time to get back to the idea of selling a niche product or service (a real product that fills a need) using a static website and driving traffic to that website. That is what online marketing is about. By best accounts, only a few dozen bloggers make a full time living out of 100 million blogs. Not a very good business model if you ask me.
A good Technorati and Alexa rank may be giving you the illusion that you are successful. The same is true for frequent posting. I have deliberately cut back on posting to see what would happen. You guessed it...Technorati and Alexa ranks drop like a rock, and very quickly. The effort to maintain your rankings is an endless nightmare of posts to blogs, and posting comments to social networks and forums. It is like being a shark, stop swimming and you die.
I am beginning to think a better approach is to use your blogging as part of a network traffic strategy to create desirable traffic. I also am going back to writing "pillar articles" for article directory submission. These end up as permanent links and keep on giving for years to come.
There are only four things that matter in online marketing, and they are in this order of importance:
1. Niche 2. Traffic 3. Monetization 4. Product
Notice that the product is the least important thing. Unless, you just write for kicks or the truly original purpose of blogging...to keep a journal, my money is on investing time online that will produce recurring revenue and better return on your investment of both time and money.
What are your thoughts or experience?
Ideas on How Not to Make Money for The Online Entrepreneur
If You Work in Difficult Conditions, Then A Rugged Laptop May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered
Rugged laptops are not cheap, you may know that already since you are interested in them. And they also don't come with the same configuration as the other commercial laptops you may be used to. What you get instead with a rugged laptop, is the possibility and flexibility to work in a lot of tough locations on difficult weather. That is the real value of a rugged laptop, value that earns all the money you may have paid for it.
If you work in a place where you find one of the below listed conditions, then you should really consider buying a rugged laptop:
Liquid All Over (including on your rugged laptop)
Rugged laptops have sealed keyboards that won't let the water or any other liquid to seep inside. Also, the ports that you will find on a ruggedized laptop are usually protected by efficient covers that keep the liquid away from connectors so you won't experience any unpleasant situations in wet environments.
Strong and Persistent Vibrations
Rugged laptops were designed with this issue in mind, they have strong components, a hard drive that resists to strong vibrations, things that commercial laptops don't do. Put a normal laptop in a vibrating environment and you may have the surprise of loosing data. Not with a rugged laptop.
They are also tested for...
Drops, Drops, Drops
During a work day you may drop your rugged laptop more than once. You should know that all the components inside it are strong and tested to withstand a strong impact: CPU, hard drive, optical devices, etc. The rugged laptop case is also strong not easy to break.
Electromagnetic Fields
Commercial notebooks won't perform well near an electromagnetic area such as radio transmissions, power generators, etc. A rugged laptop was actually designed to work in such environments, environments where commercial notebooks may actually stop working.
About the author: John Smith is the editor of MagicLaptop.com. Read the complete guide on "How To Buy A Rugged Laptop" www.MagicLaptop.com
Do you have a list of bloggers you like and want to recognize? This is what my Saturday Shoutouts project is all about.
This is where I give people a mini review as a mention in a weekly post, and then Stumble, Netscape, use other bookmarks, and write a few comments to their blog posts.
This week will be fairly brief with four bloggers instead of the targeted five blogs I attempt to call out each Saturday afternoon. Charlene is recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month by doing a pink overhaul at her Casual Keystrokes blog. Scott is happy to be an S.O.B. at Finding Your Marbles (great name for a blog). Then David points out the marketing value of YouTube in a post on Social Media Optimization, and there is Ilker at The Thinking Blog, who is always thinking for us.
Leave a comment and let me know what you are up to with your blogging efforts.
Doing a recent search on "SOHO", the obvious acronym for Small Office/Home Office (assuming that you are not from New York City), I came across this website for the SOHO Phone Guide.
It is a good example of "soft selling" and using what looks like a free consumer information guide to steer readers to a commercial enterprise. In this case, a shameless plug for Onebox. In my early marketing days before the days of the Internet, this may have also been referred to as an advertorial. A thinly disguised attempt at making an advertisement look like editorial content.
In this case the marketing message may be useful for those that are lazy, or perhaps less adept a putting some of the free online telephony solutions together for use in there small business adventures.
I was a Onebox early adopter when it first came online, and prior to it becoming a paid service. All-in-all, still a good option for those willing to pay a monthly fee for unified messaging and a one number follow-me type telephone service.
It may sound implausible, but it is not impossible. Follow this Digital Nomad and you know that just feeding the blogs is not going to cut it anymore. Blogging should be part of your online marketing network, but not a diversion.
Anything that goes viral online can be fun to watch, but sometimes it's even more exciting if you are part of the effort with some skin in the game. The Thinking Blog will make you think about many different things, and it will also make you think about viral marketing with the chance to start the new year right with a new laptop computer as part of an online promotion.
It's the middle of the weekend, so no heavy thought riddled posts today. Just some fun and games to let your mind roam a little. Maybe this should become a habitual weekend exercise to post about. Find something that is lighthearted, but still interesting and write a quick post about it.
